Gabrielle Ames
Reporter
Judith Altmann, one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors, spoke to students on Thursday, Jan. 10, thanks to the efforts of history teacher Jen Fine. The assembly ran through periods two and seven, and students attending included juniors taking U.S. History and sophomores in Global History II.
Ms. Fine met Ms. Altmann when, as a student teacher at West Hill High School, she was asked to find a Holocaust survivor to speak to students. “She’s so amazing,” Ms. Fine said. “I literally thought of her every week since I met her, but I lost her contact information when I moved.”
Recently, however, Ms. Fine saw an article in the Stamford Advocate about Ms. Altmann.
Ms. Fine went to History Department Head Richard Webb and Principal Tony Pavia, both of whom were excited by the prospect of having Ms. Altmann speak. With the support of Mr. Webb and Mr. Pavia, Ms. Fine contacted Ms. Altmann and asked her to come talk to students; Ms. Altmann readily agreed.
With barely two weeks to arrange the Holocaust assembly, the teachers had to move fast. According to Mr. Webb, “We totally pulled it off.”
Ms. Altmann was born in Jasina, Czechoslovakia, where she lived with her family until 1939, when the Nazis invaded and placed countless Jewish families into ghettos. After a few weeks in a ghetto, the Altmann family was sent to Auschwitz in cattle cars, which carried sixty to seventy people per car. At Auschwitz, they faced Josef Mengele, a doctor known as the “Angel of Death” used prisoners to experiment. Ms. Altmann and her niece were selected by Dr. Mengele to live; the rest of her family was gassed.
From Auschwitz, Ms. Altmann was sent to the Essen and Gelsenkirchen labor camps. In 1945, she made the Death March to Bergen-Belsen labor camp, where Anne Frank had died two weeks previously. A few months later, British soldiers liberated the camp and Ms. Altmann was given the option to go to Sweden, which she took, and there she made a new life for herself. In 1948, she moved to the United States. “[Holocaust survivors] appreciate this country more than anyone in the world,” Ms. Altmann said.
Once she recounted her experience of the Holocaust to students, she addressed them directly. “Stand up for justice,” she said. “Prevent such things from happening anywhere in the world. Do not let the Holocaust be forgotten.”
“Do not carry hate because it destroys you. It does not destroy the hated because he or she does not know what you feel, but it is killing you. Use your energy for good things and for better things,” Ms. Altmann said.
Though Holocaust speakers have visited classes before, NCHS has never had an assembly of this scale. Ms. Altmann addressed a packed auditorium for an hour and a half, then addressed the questions of students who had remained after the majority of the audience had left.
Sophomore Veronica Hoeft, who is fluent in Czech, was excited to learn during the presentation that Ms. Altmann speaks eight different languages. After the assembly, Veronica asked Ms. Altmann if she speaks Czech as well, which she does. “I was really excited because there aren’t many people who speak the language around here,” Veronica said. “It’s just amazing, all this history in one person. It’s part of my family’s history, and it’s another thing we have in common. I can’t believe how much she’s seen and everything she’s been through.”
Ms. Altmann particularly impressed English teacher Christine Bonarrigo, who teaches the Holocaust literature class. “This particular presentation by Ms. Altmann brought all of the reading we do right to life. She explained everything we’ve been reading with such interest and vigor and emotion. I think with anything they read in the future, they’ll be hearing her in the background, speaking to them,” Ms. Bonarrigo said.
“It is so important not to forget,” Ms. Fine said. “In a few years, we aren’t going to have survivors of the Holocaust anymore, so it’s really a once in a lifetime experience to get to hear someone like her. What really stuck out to me is her outlook on life – it’s just amazing. She’s one of the most positive women I’ve ever met, even after going through such a horrible experience. She set an example for the students to have the ability to survive and overcome and continue with your life and it’s very powerful. She’s a really special person.”
Mr. Webb also wanted students to see a generation of people who are not going to be around much longer. “For some kids, that’s going to be the last Holocaust survivor they will ever see,” he said.
With so few first-hand witnesses of the Holocaust left, is it possible that the U.S. will forget the magnitude of such an event in history? According to Mr. Webb, yes. “Americans, forget stuff? Absolutely! Americans ignore modern day genocides, like Sudan,” he said.
Many students were surprised that Ms. Altmann could speak about her experiences in public. “I was amazed at how she could talk so easily about it. She even got emotional but could still be herself afterwards. My grandfather liberated some of the camps and he still can’t talk about it,” sophomore Ned Thunem said. “At first, when she said that we are the future and that we have the power to change things, I thought it was just what we’ve all heard before, but after I really listened to her, and after she said to never let something like the Holocaust happen again, I knew that I would do everything I can to prevent it.”
